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The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness

Name: The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness
Author: Alvaro Fernandez
ISBN: 978-0982362976

HOW TO OPTIMIZE BRAIN HEALTH AND PERFORMANCE AT ANY AGE

by Alvaro Fernandez Elkhonon Goldberg Pascale Michelon ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2013

A stimulating, challenging resource, full of solid information and practical tips for improving brain health.

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In this revised second edition, Fernandez, Goldberg (The New Executive Brain, 2009, etc.), and Michelon (Max Your Memory, 2011) provide extensive information to help readers optimize their brain power and performance.

“Your brain is your most precious asset, and it is wise to invest in it,” the authors write. Using charts, drawings, and up-to-date scientific studies, they present the case that any brain, at any age, can change for the better. That may be particularly good news for baby boomers who assumed that they could do nothing to limit their risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s. The brain, the authors write, is highly dynamic and constantly reorganizing, and it can be shaped and reshaped across a person’s entire lifespan. The authors suggest myriad activities to help the process along, including physical exercise to help generate new brain cells; a diet high in vegetables, fruit, cereals and unsaturated fats; and a variety of mental exercises. Educational and career activities, as well as stimulating leisure pursuits such as reading, playing card games, doing puzzles and participating in organized discussions can also help build one’s brain. The authors also cite studies that show that musical training, learning a new language, and even playing certain types of video games can help reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s. They also discuss at length the value of meditation to train one’s emotional responses and focus one’s attention. This isn’t a book for readers who are looking for a simplified how-to manual. Lay readers may find that the multitude of studies and occasionally academic prose make this book more of a reference than a cover-to-cover read. That said, casual readers may consult the bulleted chapter highlights at the end of each chapter to glean the most salient information, and read interviews with experts who authored studies cited in the book.

A stimulating, challenging resource, full of solid information and practical tips for improving brain health.

Pub Date: April 4, 2013

ISBN: 978-0982362976

Page Count: 284

Publisher: SharpBrains Incorporated

Review Posted Online: May 21, 2013

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.